By ADRIAN STEWART CO
TNT Tropang Giga relied on their torrid outside shooting as they scored a 116-104 victory over Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings in Game 4 of the 2022-2023 PBA Governors’ Cup Finals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Sunday night, April 16.
Best Import of the Conference winner Rondae Hollis-Jefferson led the way with 36 points to go with 10 rebounds, five assists and three steals as the Tropang Giga tied the best-of-seven series at 2-2.
Jayson Castro chipped in 17 markers, including four three-point conversions, while Bacolodnon Kib Montalbo, Calvin Oftana and Mikey Williams contributed 16 markers apiece for TNT.
The Tropang Giga managed to tie the championship series despite the absence of Roger Pogoy and Bacolodnon Justin Chua for the rest of the series due to a fractured finger and torn ACL injury, respectively.
TNT was scorching to start the game behind back-to-back treys by Montalbo for a 19-9 start. The Gin Kings rallied to within 14-19, but TNT leaned on five straight points by Hollis-Jefferson for a 29-23 lead.
The Tropang Giga widened the lead to its largest at 48-25 in the second period with triples from Oftana, Castro and Glenn Khobuntin. The Gin Kings rallied to within 41-56, but a buzzer-beating triple by Montalbo gave TNT a 59-41 halftime edge.
They managed to increase the lead to 21 early in the third quarter, but the Gin Kings responded with a massive run behind Justin Brownlee to cut the deficit to as low as 11 points at 57-68.
However, TNT had a quick response behind three-point conversions from Hollis-Jefferson, Castro and Oftana as they increased the lead back to 95-77 heading into the fourth.
The Gin Kings made their last push early in the final quarter as they cut the deficit to 16 points, but conversions from Montalbo, Hollis-Jefferson and Williams sealed the win for the Tropang Giga.
Brownlee finished with 28 points, Earl Scottie Thompson and Jamie Malonzo had 22 and 17, respectively, while Best Player of the Conference winner Christian Standhardinger, Stanley Pringle and Von Pessumal ended with 10 points each for the Gin Kings.
TNT 116 — Hollis-Jefferson 36, Castro 17, Oftana 16, M. Williams 16, Montalbo 16, Khobuntin 8, Erram 2, Ganuelas-Rosser 2, K. Williams 2, Varilla 1, Tungcab 0, Marcelo 0.
GINEBRA 104 — Brownlee 28, Thompson 22, Malonzo 17, Standhardinger 10, Pringle 10, Pessumal 10, Mariano 3, J. Aguilar 2, David 2, Gray 0, Pinto 0, Onwubere 0, R. Aguilar 0.
Quarterscores: 29-23, 59-41, 95-77, 116-104./ASC, WDJ